CAREER GUIDE FOR FOREST & CONSERVATION WORKERS
SOC Code: 45-4011
Pay Band(s): 2 (Salary Structure)
Standard Occupational Description: Under supervision, perform manual labor necessary to develop, maintain, or protect forest, forested areas, and woodlands through such activities as raising and transporting tree seedlings; combating insects, pests, and diseases harmful to trees; and building erosion and water control structures and leaching of forest soil. Includes forester aides, seedling pullers, and tree planters.
Forest & Conservation Worker positions in the Commonwealth are assigned to the following Roles in the Natural Resources Career Group:
While Forest & Conservation Workers within the Commonwealth are all located within the Natural Resources Career Group, individuals may want to pursue other opportunities within the Commonwealth depending upon individual training, education, knowledge, skills, abilities, and interests.
Other Career Group(s) that may be of interest are:
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND TASKS
(Technical and Functional Expertise)
Skills
Note: The technical and functional skills listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Forest & Conservation Workers commonly recognized by most employers. Typically, you will not be required to have all of the skills listed to be a successful performer. Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile.
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Knowledge
Note: The technical and functional knowledge statements listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Forest & Conservation Workers commonly recognized by most employers. Typically, you will not be required to have all of the knowledge listed to be a successful performer. Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile.
The Knowledge of:
1. Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
2. Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Abilities
Note: The technical and functional abilities listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Forest & Conservation Workers commonly recognized by most employers. Typically, you will not be required to have all of the abilities listed to be a successful performer. Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile.
The Ability to:
1. Exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
2. Quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
3. Exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
4. Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
5. Use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing.
6. Generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
7. Use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
8. Know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
9. Coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
10. Quickly move the arms and legs.
Tasks
Note: The following is a list of sample tasks typically performed by Forest & Conservation Workers. Employees in this occupation will not necessarily perform all of the tasks listed.
1. Operate heavy equipment such as planting and harvesting machines.
2. Drag cut trees from cutting areas and load trees onto trucks.
3. Examine and grade trees according to standard charts, and staple color-coded grade tags to limbs.
4. Identify diseased or undesirable trees, and remove them, using power saws or hand saws.
5. Maintain tallies of trees examined and counted during tree marking and measuring efforts.
6. Perform fire protection and suppression duties such as constructing fire breaks and disposing of brush.
7. Prune or shear tree tops and limbs in order to control growth, increase density, and improve shape.
8. Select and cut trees according to markings or sizes, types, and grades.
9. Select tree seedlings, prepare the ground, and plant the trees in reforestation areas, using manual planting tools.
10. Sort and separate tree seedlings, discarding substandard seedlings, according to standard charts and verbal instructions.
11. Spray or inject vegetation with insecticides to kill insects and to protect against disease, and with herbicides to reduce competing vegetation.
INTERESTED?
Like people, occupations have traits or characteristics. These characteristics give important clues about the nature of the work and work environment, and give you an opportunity to match your own personal interests to a specific occupation. When you choose a job in an occupation that matches your own interests you have taken an important step in planning a successful and rewarding career.
The occupation of Forest & Conservation Worker has Realistic and Investigative characteristics as described below:
Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
LICENSURE, REGISTRATION, OR CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Generally this is not required for Forest & Conservation Worker positions in state government. However, the Forest & Nursery Worker must be physically fit. The Forest & Conservation Worker is expected to obtain a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) within six months of employment.
EDUCATIONAL, TRAINING, AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
The Department of Labor provides the following information:
Forest and conservation workers perform a variety of tasks to reforest and conserve timberlands and maintain forest facilities, such as roads and campsites. Other forest and conservation workers work in forest nurseries, sorting out tree seedlings and discarding those not meeting prescribed standards of root formation, stem development, and condition of foliage.
Forestry and logging jobs are physically demanding. Workers spend all their time outdoors, sometimes in poor weather and often in isolated areas.
Generally, little formal education is required for most forest, conservation, and logging occupations. Many secondary schools, including vocational and technical schools and some community colleges, offer courses or a 2-year degree in general forestry, wildlife, conservation, and forest harvesting, which could be helpful in obtaining a job. Most forest and conservation workers develop skills through on-the-job training, with instruction coming primarily from experienced workers.
In the Commonwealth of Virginia the forest and conservation worker positions are labor intensive positions, recruited and trained to perform needed tasks associate with specific programs. For example positions may be required to use and operate moderate to heavy equipment. Type jobs involve construction and maintenance of buildings and grounds, forest roads and trails, and farming activities.
The Virginia Department of Forestry and the Department of Conservation and Recreation are the primary employers of forest & conservation workers for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Their web site http://www.vdof.org/ and http://www.dcr.state.va.us/jobs.htm provide more information on forestry careers in Virginia.
These agencies provide additional training opportunities in many topics. The Training Program Opportunities are available for Forest & Conservation Workers in combination with structured courses developed, scheduled and conducted for employees of the Departments.
COMMONWEALTH COMPETENCIES
Competencies are a set of identified behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities that directly and positively impact the success of employees and the organization. Competencies can be observed and measured. When consistently demonstrated, competencies make employees particularly effective in their work. Competencies help lay out a road map to career success. You can use the Commonwealth Competencies to help improve your individual performance by adopting behaviors that make high performing employees successful in their jobs. In this way, you can use the Commonwealth Competencies for your further professional development.
The Commonwealth Competencies are:
1.
Technical and Functional Expertise
2.
Understanding the Business
3. Achieving Results
4. Serving the Customer
5. Teamwork
6.
Interpersonal and Communication Skills
7. Leadership and Personal Effectiveness
The above competencies may be applied to employees throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. They can be rank-ordered by agencies and hiring managers to represent the needs of a specific job. The rank ordering will change depending upon the occupation, an organization's priorities, the actual job requirements, and the supervisor's preferences.
Career success is both about what you do (applying your technical knowledge, skills, and ability) and how you do it (the consistent behaviors you demonstrate and choose to use) while interacting and communicating with others. Hopefully, by studying the Commonwealth competencies, identifying your developmental opportunities, and working to refine your own competence, you can take charge of your career!
For additional information about the Commonwealth Competencies go to: http://jobs.state.va.us/cc_planningctr.htm. For the competencies, we first list the competencies and then define each. Finally, we list competency indicators; to describe what successful performance looks like.
COMMONWEALTH CAREER PATH
Career opportunities in the Commonwealth are not limited to moving “up” to the next highest role and pay band, changing positions, or to becoming a supervisor. That's because most roles describe a broad group of occupationally related positions that perform a range of work that requires increased knowledge and skills. For that reason, Commonwealth roles describe the career paths within the same or higher-level role for the same or different Career Group. The broad salary range and the Commonwealth's pay practices provide flexibility in recognizing career development and advancement. (Salary Structure)
For example: Forest & Conservation Worker
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PAY BANDS |
PRACTITIONER ROLES |
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PAY BANDS |
MANAGER ROLES |
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Natural Resource Specialist I |
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Sample Career Path
Natural Resource Specialist I
The Natural Resource Specialist I role provides career tracks for forest and conservation workers involved in a variety of skilled, technical or compliance functions in conservation, forestry, marine and fisheries operations, parks, wildlife projects, or program development that provide support and require some independence of action.
ADDITIONAL OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT:
http://www.alex.vec.state.va.us/
Virginia Career Resource Network
Chief, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: